Pregnancy is a very delicate process. If you think about it, most women on this earth are of childbearing age. Once a woman discovers she is pregnant, medical care is vitally important. It is even suggested that if a woman is planning to become pregnant, she should adopt healthy habits before conception. Women should see their gynecologist as soon as they know they are pregnant. To have a healthy baby, a woman must practice healthy habits throughout her pregnancy. This includes regular checkups, prenatal tests, a healthy diet, moderate exercise, plenty of rest, prenatal vitamins, and limited stress. If a woman smokes, she must stop smoking immediately! If she drinks, she should stop drinking immediately. However, many women continue to use certain types of drugs during pregnancy. This is unfortunate and can unfortunately greatly affect their baby, at the time of birth, but also later in the child's life. Everyone is well aware that using any type of drug is not healthy for the fetus, but people still decide to do it. Whether it’s because of addiction or lack of interest. Let's look at the effects on fetuses of alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, caffeine and methamphetamine use. During pregnancy, all doctors say not to drink alcohol. Alcohol crosses the placenta directly and reaches the woman's fetus. Therefore, if a woman drinks alcohol, so does her fetus. The fetus is constantly growing and developing throughout pregnancy. During the first four weeks of pregnancy, the fetus's heart, central nervous system, eyes, arms, and legs begin to develop. The brain actually begins to develop during the third week of pregnancy and continues...... middle of article...... every woman should be aware of the effect of medications on her and her fetus and if she is having trouble quitting smoking, to get help immediately! Being honest with your doctor is the best way to go. Works Cited Brennan, P., Cornelius, MD, De Genna, N., Lotfipour, S., Paus, T., D'Onofrio, BM, ... & McBride, C. (2012). Tobacco and pregnancy. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging - December 15, 2004 (Vol. 132, Issue 2, Pages 95- 106, DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2004.06.004 Kuczkowski, KM (2004). Marijuana during pregnancy. ANNALS-ACADEMY OF MEDICINE SINGAPORE , 33, 336-339. Meyer, Kurt D. and Lubo Zhang. “Short- and Long-Term Adverse Effects of Cocaine Abuse During Pregnancy on Cardiac Development.” January 15, 2009. Web April 17.. 2014.